Posted by finelinebob on August 26, 2006, at 21:23:42
In reply to Looking for a CIVIL book!, posted by MidnightBlue on May 3, 2006, at 0:44:08
> You know, non-violent, few bad words, that will make me laugh, inform me, or make me feel good and NOT put down!
I can't guarantee that last bit. In fact, I would recommend that you put this book down as many as 81 times, that being the number of verses the book contains, so you can soak in the calligraphy and the photography that accompany the poetry in this translation, and let the meaning sink in subconsciously while your mind is otherwise occupied.
I'm talking about the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, as translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. And the 25th Anniversary Edition is available at Amazon, yea! I thought it might be completely out of print by now.
If you've never read it, there is one thing you need to know: Lao Tzu speaks directly but underneath the words is a meaning meant to turn the world on its head. Given the historical time in which it was written, it would have been easy to read/hear its words and think they praise and flatter the "lords" of the day, but if you **listen** to what is said you'll hear the subversion of the material in pursuit of the mystical.
I've read several translations -- from transliterations that seem to ignore any difference between languages or ages to manipulations (The Tao of Power comes to mind) that look to distort it for the reader's (that is, the author's) purposes. Gia-Fu Feng's translation is elegant and contemporary and carries with it that internal sense of truth, something you can feel is right.
It has made me laugh. It has made me contemplate. It has given me new perspectives on cultural "truths". It has helped me see how marvelous our existence is while remaining humble, because there is so much more.
I can't remember if this quote was attributed to Lao Tzu himself or some other teacher who followed him. Taoist talk of the "ten thousand things" between Heaven and Earth -- all that exists. Why 10,000, when it's rather obvious that there are far more than that? The answer (the quote): It is enough.
Switching philosophical gears here, some contemporary Buddhist authors I like are Thich Nhat Hanh (No Death, No Fear) and Pema Chödrön (The Places That Scare You: A Guide To Fearlessness in Difficult Times)
poster:finelinebob
thread:639512
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/books/20051228/msgs/680385.html